A LOOK IN THE MIRROR

A LOOK IN THE MIRROR

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise
his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me
a sinner!'" (Luke 18:13)

If you've ever wondered how far God would go to show His
love, look in the mirror and wonder no more. We need not look any
further than ourselves to find the most shocking and amazing displays of
God's grace. If we think otherwise, it is only because we have not seen
ourselves as we truly are.

It has been said and sung many times: "There but for the
grace of God go I." At first this sounds grateful, but such sentiment
masks a dangerous pride. It is actually not unlike the statement of a
religious leader in Jesus' day as he looked upon a sinner on his knees
crying out for God's mercy. "Lord I thank you that I am not like that
sinner over there," the Pharisee prayed. It is a view that focuses on
someone else's misfortune. Someone else is worse than I am. Much better
to be thinking and praying, "Here, because of the grace of God, and for
no other reason, am I." I am the only person I truly know about when it
comes to sin. I am the authority on the subject.

The Pharisee hasn't a clue about the sinner-who he is or
what he has done. Nor does he have any business making the assumption
that the sinner is lot is any worse than his. The only prayer any of us
can pray on the subject of sin is: "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner."
This is the only prayer that sends heaven scurrying.

It is best to steer completely clear of the comparison game.
Any attempt to better oneself at the mercy of someone else's failure
will always bring a twisted view of both ourselves and others.

The immensity of God's mercy is not displayed in what He did
for the world, or for someone else. Nor is it discovered through some
theological understanding of the many nuances of His grace. The
immensity of God's mercy is revealed finally-and only-in the incredible
realization that, lo and behold, it found out the worst of the lot. It
looked from heaven and found out me!

John Fischer

Scripture Reading: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

Today's devotional comes from REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE -- a 365 daily
devotional published by America's KESWICK. Currently out-of-print, a new
edition will be released in June published by Christian Literature
Crusade. Singer-songrwiter, John Fischer, is a member of the Board of
Reference of America's KESWICK.